Hand luggage fees could soon be banned. We have the Spanish to thank

Yahoo

22-05-2025

Last week, a court in Spain's 31st biggest city issued Ryanair a €147 (£124) fine. Small fry, for a multi-billion euro business, I know. But the ruling could have wide-reaching ramifications for both airlines and passengers, and could even spell the beginning of the end for hand luggage fees.
The court in Salamanca ordered Ryanair to reimburse a passenger for hand luggage charges paid over five flights between 2019 and 2024. The passenger travelled with a standard small suitcase that was larger than Ryanair's free hand luggage allowance, but small enough to take on board.
According to Ryanair's rules, the passenger was correctly charged to bring the case on the flight. But according to the Salamanca judge, hand luggage is an essential and indispensable element of air transport and, therefore, the airline was ordered to issue a refund plus interest and costs.
There are a number of different legal considerations in the mix here. In 2014, a European Union court said hand luggage 'must, in principle, be considered an indispensable element of passenger transport and that its carriage cannot, therefore, be subject to a price supplement.'
This is supported by Article 97 of Spain's Air Navigation Law, which says airlines are 'obliged to transport not only the passenger, but also, and without charging anything for it, the objects and hand luggage that they carry' with them.
But on the flip side, many airlines and Spain's Airline Association says that charging for hand luggage is legal under EU law.
This €147 fine might seem quibbly and irrelevant to your summer holiday plans. But the Salamanca case sets a legal precedent that could spell more court cases for low-cost airlines, potentially even in the UK, and the ultimate end of hand luggage charges for passengers.
The Salamanca case is the latest chapter in an emerging war between Spanish lawmakers and low-cost airlines. In October 2024, Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs fined five low-cost airlines a total of €179m (£149m) for hidden fees. Ryanair faced the biggest fine of €108m (£90m), while easyJet received a penalty of €29m (£24m). Vueling, Volotea and Norwegian were also fined.
The Salamanca case was backed by the Spanish consumer rights group, Facua, and marked their fifth success in battling Ryanair and Vueling over hand luggage fees. In a similar 2025 case in San Sebastian, Vueling were ordered to refund a passenger €11.
After the latest Salamanca case, lawyer Isaac Guijarro said it was a 'huge win for travellers everywhere. It shows Ryanair can't get away with treating passengers like walking ATMs.'
The drip fees have, indeed, ramped up in recent years. In November 2018, Wizz and Ryanair began charging passengers to bring a large cabin bag on board. Only a laptop bag or small backpack, small enough to fit under a seat, could be carried on for free. EasyJet followed suit in December 2020. These days, low-cost airlines make the bulk of their profits from ancillary sales; in 2023, Ryanair made €4.2bn through things like luggage extras, seat selection and speedy boarding.
Some legacy airlines are at it, too. At least seven – United, Air Canada, Finnair, Sas, KM Malta Airlines, Latam and Avianca – now offer only a limited cabin bag allowance at their cheapest rate. But is a reversal now on the cards?
While the add-on fee structure feels relatively entrenched in aviation, lawyers say this could change after the Salamanca ruling.
Daniel Scognamiglio of the law firm Blake Morgan told The Telegraph: 'This will have consequences for all airlines flying to and from Spain and possibly other EU destinations as well.
'It was a small claims process, so the authority of the judgment could be brought into question, but it does show how courts are likely to deal with this issue and the judgment is going to be persuasive.'
'The judgment is likely to cause further difficulties for an airline not being completely transparent in its charges. It is also likely that passengers in the UK and elsewhere may well challenge charges for taking hand luggage on board a flight,' Scognamiglio added.
In the event that Ryanair and other low-cost airlines do end up scrapping their additional luggage fees, this would not necessarily be a 'huge win' for all travellers. A clampdown on cabin luggage fees would almost certainly lead to return to higher base-line fares as airlines look to make up for lost revenue.
So a 'loss', in fact, for air passengers who travel light or who usually just pay for a bigger bag in the hold. This, on top of Ryanair's impending fare rises announced this week, could make low-cost airlines feel less low-cost than before.
But that's all hypothetical for now, because Ryanair remains bullish. In response to the ruling, a spokesperson for Ryanair said: 'Ryanair allows each passenger to carry a generous (40 x 25 x 20 cm) personal bag on board as part of the basic air fare, with the option to add extra bags for an optional fee should they so wish.
'This policy promotes both low fares and consumer choice, and is fully compliant with EU law, as upheld by several recent Spanish court rulings, including in Coruña, Segovia, Ontinyent, Seville, and Madrid.'
Ryanair may be unwavering, but I suspect that Spanish air passengers, Facua and, who knows, maybe even some disgruntled, litigiously minded British holidaymakers, will be emboldened by what happened in Salamanca this month. The battle for the wheelie bag has only just begun.
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